Biosketch
For more than 50 years, Carol Duncan gave tirelessly to the Greater Lowell community. From her early career as an English teacher in Dracut to her 22 years as the executive director of Girls Inc., her work and advocacy helped create opportunities for self-sufficiency and a path to agency for some of our most vulnerable citizens.
Following a short battle with ovarian cancer, Carol passed away in June 2023.
While raising her children Alison and Andrew in Lowell with her husband, George, the founder of Enterprise Bank, Duncan got involved in many community organizations. She was the founder of the D’Youville Manor Ladies Guild, president of the People’s Club of Lowell and first vice president of the Florence Crittenton League of Lowell. She also had a local tutoring business in SAT preparation.
At Girls Inc., Duncan oversaw the development of innovative programs in the arts, sciences, engineering and technology. She also raised funds to renovate and keep the aging properties in shape. On the Girls Inc. 60th anniversary, the organization paid off its last mortgage, and was debt free.
Duncan served on many boards, including those of the Governors of the American Society of Clinical Pathology, Ironstone Farm, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Lowell Telecommunication Corp., the Pollard Memorial Library Foundation and the Whistler House Museum of Art. At UMass Lowell, she served on the Advisory Board of Women in Science and Engineering.
Duncan received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network.